Questioning the aid approach in Darfur
I returned home at the end of 2007 from six
months' work in Darfur, North Africa, the land of barbed wire and
beautiful sunsets. It was strange going into supermarkets - too
much food! It was odd seeing all my clothes again after living out
of my one tramping pack. It was strange not hearing gunfire every
other night - Guy Fawkes was terrifying. I had been working as the
Admin and Finance Manager for a Swiss-based humanitarian aid
organisation in Darfur, a region which had been at war for several
years.
Darfur was quite an experience, but one thing that really got to
me was that the locals were receiving all this aid from us, in
terms of healthcare, food, water and sanitation, but they weren't
getting a say. I was managing seven local staff and many
volunteers, who'd all been working in the organisation for years
before me, and they didn't have the chance, ever, to reach to my
level of management.
Also once at a UN party (only place to get alcohol in a Muslim
country!), I heard the frustration of a Kenyan aid worker who said
the only help any of these organisations had been for her local
village was when they actually trained the local people so they
could run things for themselves.
We all know the satisfaction in being able to determine our own
lives. As working women it can certainly still be a struggle
- but the satisfaction in knowing you've achieved something that
you've worked hard for is irreplaceable. We deprive people overseas
of this when we just give them food or other aid that doesn't allow
them to be involved in the decisions that affect their own
lives.
A different kind of aid
Soon after arriving back from Darfur I heard about an
international organisation called The Hunger Project (THP). THP is about working
together with people, with a specific focus on women, in places of
acute hunger to find solutions to end their hunger. Before the aid
money starts, local volunteers, 'animators', spend time (maybe
years) gathering people and suggesting they can end their hunger
through their own skills, labour and motivation, with some
leadership training and a few years of monetary investment by the
Hunger Project. They have to agree and commit to their end of
the bargain. The result is high leverage, sustainable solutions
that give dignity.
It's innovative, it's small, it works!
The Hunger Project was founded in 1977 and started in New
Zealand in 1984. It spent the first ten years distributing
information booklets to every school in NZ to challenge the idea
that famine was inevitable. Since then THP has developed a range of
programmes in response to conditions in Asia, Africa and Latin
America. It has also created partnerships with countries committed
to raising money to invest in these programmes. In NZ this is just
under $100,000 per year from 60 committed investors and governed by
a voluntary Board of Trustees and Committee. Besides its group of
investors and those who attend fundraising events, very few New
Zealanders have heard about THP, however.
On the way to my dream life
I spent my twenties trying to figure out what I was going to do
career-wise with my life. There was a lot of stop-starting. I
wanted to do something about global poverty, which I'd learnt about
through degrees in International Business, Ethics and Politics.
Once I'd left Uni I got a part time admin job working from NZ
for a group that worked in slums in Asia. I got really interested
in being healthy, and did a part time reception job at a natural
health clinic - natural health is proactive rather than reactive
and so effective and cheap! I did a business lecturing job for a
while, too, and realised I really enjoying teaching new skills. I
also loved travelling and learning from other cultures as well as
connecting emotionally with people and their struggles. However,
family and friends kept telling me I needed to focus on just one
thing - "you can't have it all, Charlotte!" But I couldn't get my
passions to all fit into one tidy box, and I hated working for a
boss 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
But, aha, this year I've turned 30 and it's finally starting to
happen. This year The Hunger Project New Zealand asked me to work
for them eight hours a week, contracting my services. They want to
increase their visibility, to give New Zealanders increased options
in the aid debate. My combination of skills was great for them:
high computer skills, admin/finance, first-hand experience in the
aid world, fundraising and events experience, and lots of people
skills.
Financially and time-wise this has worked out very well for me
because I started studying again this year. I'm working towards a
Masters in Psychotherapy - which is fascinating and keeps my spirit
healthy.
So I'm working mostly from home (slippers with my laptop is as
great as it sounds!) for an aid organisation that I completely
believe in, while studying something that I've wanted to for a long
time. I can walk to university from where I live - great for the
environment, my stress levels and the pocket, and I have exciting
future plans.
I'm planning to be a psychotherapist, working for an agency or
from home part time, and also doing some mental health training in
the developing world (in collaboration with local mental health
workers of course!)
What does The Hunger Project actually do?
THP seeks to end hunger and poverty through its three key
pillars:
- mobilizing grassroots people to build self-reliance
- empowering women as key change agents
- and forming effective partnerships with local governments
THP is relatively small, with a budget of just $US12 million and
only 340 employees internationally. No Westerners work in the
developing countries. With this budget they train 375,000
volunteers who encourage others to take action - 35 million people
are affected by THP programmes in 21,000 rural villages in Africa,
South Asia and Latin America.
THP case example - 600% income increase
Comfort Kissiwaa is an example of how THP's work empowers women
and delivers a positive change both in their lives as well as those
of their families and communities.
Comfort is 49 and a native
of Nsuta in the Nsuta-Aweregya Epicenter in the Eastern Region of
Ghana, married with four children. She was a kindergarten teacher
earning an annual income of US$110 and also farming to supplement
her income and for subsistence. In 2000 she attended a mass THP
Vision, Commitment Action Workshop which she says had a remarkable
impact on her and how she perceives life. She joined THP Ghana's
Women Empowerment Project (WEP) through which she began to gain
prominence in the community as a result of the opportunity she had
to educate people on their civic, legal and health rights. She
received five microcredit loans from THP, enabling her to expand
her farming activities. Comfort was later elected as the Secretary
of the Nsuta-Aweregya Epicenter Executive Committee and in 2004 was
appointed Manager of the Epicenter Community Bank after passing a
competitive interview that was conducted for the position.
Comfort said her association with THP has helped to change her
from a timid and shy person to an outspoken person, full of
confidence and drive. With the income from her farming activities
and management role at the rural bank her annual income is now
US$787. She is able to help her husband with the costs to feed,
clothe and educate their children, and has gained respect in the
family, now attending family meetings. She has also become a role
model in the community, especially for young girls. As a WEP
volunteer, she has encouraged several parents to send their
children to school, and that has increased the number of girls
enrolled in school in her community. She has also contributed to
either resolving or referring many marital disputes to state
agencies.
How can Professionelle members become involved?
- Become a regular monthly investor in the work and know that you
are truly contributing to changing the world where people, with
your help, are bringing themselves out of poverty for good
- Host an info evening, breakfast or lunch event, where I will
come and present the work to your interested
friends/colleagues
- Join the Board or Committee
- Go on the mailing list to hear about movie fundraising evenings
and global updates on the work.
- Visit the website to be inspired! http://www.thp.org/
Future plans
My five year goal is to grow the organisation so that it can
afford to employ at least three people part time, have a group of
volunteers, and have its name recognised by a third of all New
Zealanders. I want more Kiwis to invest in good solutions to ending
global poverty.
Contact Charlotte at nz@thp.org regarding ways to become involved or
for further information.
Acknowledgement
Charlotte Reynolds is the Communications and Fundraising
Coordinator for The Hunger Project New Zealand. She is also
completing a Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy Studies and holds a
Bachelor of Commerce in International Business and Bachelor of Arts
in Ethics/Political Studies. Charlotte is staying healthy this
winter with daily vitamin C tablets and homeopathic Coldmed Relief.
She can be contacted at nz@thp.org or on 0211104420.